1 Kings 9:11-21

11 At that time King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had helped with the buildings. Hiram had given Solomon all the cedar, pine, and gold he wanted.
12 So Hiram traveled from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him, but when he saw them, he was not pleased.
13 He asked, "What good are these towns you have given me, my brother?" So he named them the Land of Cabul, and they are still called that today.
14 Hiram had sent Solomon about nine thousand pounds of gold.
15 This is the account of the forced labor Solomon used to build the Temple and the palace. He had them fill in the land and build the wall around Jerusalem. He also had them rebuild the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
16 (In the past the king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. After burning it, he killed the Canaanites who lived there. Then he gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who married Solomon.
17 So Solomon rebuilt it.) He also built the cities of Lower Beth Horon
18 and Baalath, as well as Tadmor, which is in the desert.
19 King Solomon also built cities for storing grain and supplies and cities for his chariots and horses. He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and everywhere he ruled.
20 There were other people in the land who were not Israelites -- Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
21 They were descendants of people that the Israelites had not destroyed. Solomon forced them to work for him as slaves, as is still true today.

1 Kings 9:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 9

This chapter relates a second vision Solomon had at Gibeon, in which he received an answer to his prayer in the preceding chapter, 1Ki 9:1-9 that passed between him and Hiram king of Tyre, 1Ki 9:10-14, the places that Solomon built or repaired, 1Ki 9:15-19, the Canaanitish people that became bondmen to him, and the officers he had among the children of Israel, 1Ki 9:20-23 the removal of Pharaoh's daughter to the house built for her, 1Ki 9:24. Solomon's attention to religious services, 1Ki 9:25 and the navy of ships he employed, which brought him in great riches, 1Ki 9:26-28.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.